Introduction
2026 April 5 - with Hotfix 1.4.0.2 - Communications Disruption was introduced as the first Shatterpoint since the 2026 Feb 21:
Shatterpoint Patch
Please Note: Currently, the only information available is based on the first Shatterpoint event (Communications Blackout) which is occurring at the time of writing. Further testing is needed. As a temporary measure, noted updates or uncertainties will be flagged with a date of testing.
"Communications Blackout" is an event that happens as a potential result of a Shatterpoint being reached in the Galactic Civil War. These battles serve as a sort of hybrid between Invasions and Flashpoints, encouraging fast-paced control of an entire city. Familiarity with a city's layout and coordination is key.
Schedule
Currently Communications Blackout events happen every 2 hours on a random city on Tatooine, with each event lasting one hour. Meaning there is an hour of downtime between events, similar to invasions.
Mechanics
There are three currently known mechanics to the Communications Blackout event:
Communication Jammers,
Supply Drops, and
Signal Relays.
Communications Jammers
Communications Jammers will spawn at specific locations within a city during a Communications Blackout event. Typically, they will have factional NPCs spawn with them. A player must be Special Forces to interact with a Communications Jammer, preventing their use by PVE players. Interacting with a Communications Jammer requires two separate uses, with a 30-second use time on each one. The first activation will create a buff for factional players, preventing them from being seen by enemy radar. Once the second use is complete, any nearby participants will be rewarded with 500 GCW points and 50 GCW tokens, and the terminal will disappear, and a new one will spawn in the city immediately.
Supply Drops
Supply drops are much less common and are represented by a yellow waypoint appearing on the map for players, as well as an accompanying system message on the screen. It is currently unknown if the use of the communications terminal has an effect on the rate of supply drops. At the location of the waypoint, Factional NPCs will spawn around a crate of supplies. This can be opened, but it will currently appear empty. Players wanting a reward must open the radial menu and select 'use'. Special Forces players will receive powerful but temporary combat stimulants and 50 GCW tokens. Combatant players will receive a weaker form of the temporary stimulants and a greatly reduced number of tokens.
Signal Relays
As of 4/7/2026, an update allowed Signal Relays to be properly targeted and the mechanic to be implemented as normal. Around these cities, you may find signal relays in a manner similar to Communications Jammers. Signal relays may be interacted only by whichever side currently does
not have disrrupted communications, making control of the Communications Jammers critical. Interacting with the signal relay will cause the opposing side to gain false intel, pointing them to a 'false' supply drop that, when used, will spawn factional NPCs to attack them rather than supplies.
Limitations
Currently, there is a daily 'soft cap' for GCW tokens earned through Communications Blackout events. It occurs at 2000 tokens, after which any additional Communications Blackout events will only reward a single token.
Known Issues
UPDATE: As of 4/7/2026, Communications Blackout events were seen taking place on Corellia instead of Tatooine, and these events are bugged, not functioning corectly in terms of mechanics or rewards.
Patch Notes -
Hotfix 1.4.0.2 Communications Disruption